NASSER Al Attiyah won 12 of the 13 stages in the Syrian Rally, third round of the FIA Middle East series, at the wheel of a latest model Subaru Impreza N14 car. He shrugged off the problems that had afflicted many of these cars on the Acropolis Rally the weekend before, but fellow N14 driver Michel Saleh wasn’t so lucky, retiring with engine failure. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX of Abdullah Al Qassimi trailed over five minutes behind, while 20-year-old Nicos Thomas, winner of the Cyprus Rally, was the highest placed Pirelli Star Driver candidate, finishing fifth on his first desert rally. Bader Al Jabri was the highest placed driver in the new Abu Dhabi Junior team, at the wheel of a two wheel drive Ford Fiesta ST. The next MERC round is the Rally of Lebanon, the only all- asphalt event in the series. MERC: Nasser’s Five Minute Win Winning without the WRC There may not have been a World Rally last weekend, but there was still plenty of rallying action taking place around the globe. MARTIN HOLMES reports 50